Livingston is among the areas in Scotland with the highest number of sex offenders.
New figures show the town is fourth in the number of registered sex offenders in Scotland at 47, tied with Kilmarnock and Leven.
But while the number of perverts living in the EH54 postcode area has dropped by one from this time last year, Livingston has risen in the Scottish league table from seventh to fourth.
The figures released by Police Scotland have revealed the number of sex offenders living in West Lothian by postcode area, up until March 31.
The new stats also show there were 33 RSOs living in the Bathgate EH48 area, down from 34 last year.
In the entire Lothian and Borders J Division, there are 360 RSOs, with 121 in custody or in hospital.
In Scotland as a whole, there are 5752 registered sex offenders, with 16 on the Wanted list. Police Scotland said enquiries to date indicate that 14 of the 16 wanted Registered Sex Offenders have left the UK.
Detective Chief Inspector Graeme McLachlan of Police Scotland’s National Sex Offender Policing Unit, sought to reassure the public by saying the rate of reoffending by sex offenders was “low”.
He continued: “Police Scotland, working with our MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements) partners, manages registered sex offenders (RSOs) across all of Scotland’s communities.
“Every single offender is assessed and managed in line with the risk they present. Sexual re-offending rates of RSOs remain very low. While we can never completely eliminate risk, MAPPA partners use robust risk assessment processes, and a range of investigative tools including the latest technologies, to manage RSOs, mitigate risk and to protect the public.”
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